A personal story of living with Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP), and life after The Whipple Surgery.
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Return to Mountain biking guiding, and coaching.
I am excited and feeling very thankful that I am able to return to work with Alberta66 MTB as a coach / guide this season. It was a long difficult recovery from the Pancreaticoduodenectomy or "The Whipple" in Nov 2023. Things didn’t go as plan after the surgery, complications slow things down and set back the recovery. Staying focused on a positive out come and making a full recovery was the main goal but spending 140 days in the hospital took a lot out of me. Walking as much as I could early on really helped me keep moving, and then I was gifted an e bike by family and friends which got me on the bike as soon as I could build the strength to sit on the saddle. I lost around 13 kgs which I had to work at putting back on, a TNP and a NJ feeding tube helped and then I was able to transition to solid food. IT’s been a challenge to stay on top of eating enough and staying active. Because of the new changes to the digestive system I have to eat small meals/snacks more often each day, usually 8 or 9 a day. Stretching and light weights has been a important part of my day, helping me build upper body strength and getting me back flexibility and range of motion I lost.
I have spent the last 6 months getting my fitness back to where I think it needs to be to return to coaching and guiding. Lots of kms on the E bike helped get me out there and then switched over to the analog bike so I could get ready for the fat bike season. I love all the different types of bikes and have a special interest in working with beginners and older rides to help them feel safe and comfortable on the bike of their choice. Cheers, hope to see you on the trails soon.
Mar 2025.
July 2024, 10 days after NJ feeding tube was removed, maybe I should have waited a little while before trying something like this. But happy to say it went well.
UPDATED Jan 8 2026 The number of polyps / adenoma, in my remaining colon, rectum and stomach, has increased since after my Whipple Surgery , and I started taking a Proton Pump Inhibitor. The Whipple re-configures the digestive tract, and creates a new connection between the stomach and the small intestine (jejunum). Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are prescribed to patients after a Whipple to prevent ulcers and bleeding in the upper digestive tract . Do Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI) cause an increase the numbers of polyps with Familial Adenomatous Polyposis , FAP ? There is a study, Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science, that seems to suggest that using a Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) for over 12 months is a significant risk factor for developing advanced colon polyps. As of June 17, 2025 there are now several small Fundic Gland Polyps in my stomach, this is the 1st time I can remember or seen any word of these, and not sure if this because ...
It's hard to believe but 2 years has passed since my Whipple ( Nov 17, 2023). I am loving my new post Whipple life, and wasn't sure I would be able to say that. The first 5 months after the Whipple were really rough , I was in hospital for all of it other than the 21 days at a friends place struggling with drains, leaks/fistula and pain. Around the 6 month anniversary things started to improve, the fistula/leaks had healed, and the feeding tube was removed. Life was slowly starting to return to the new normal. I turned 62 in August and can't believe the things I have been able to do this past year. I returned to part time work as mountain bike guide and coach with Alberta66 MTB . Spent more time on the bike with friends ( biked 3200 km with 64000m of elevation gain), got to see most of my Happy Places . I Volunteered with Friends of Kananaskis and West Bragg Trails , helping with trail maintenance and as a trail host ( to date over 300 hrs this year). The tra...
UPDATED Dec 12, 2025 Happy to report that what I have done over the past 12 months has helped my Ferritin and Iron levels stay stable and a slight increase. Part of the on going follow up after my Whipple Surgery is having blood work done at 3 and 6 month intervals. Blood work done in Nov 2024, a year post Whipple, showed my iron levels to be in the normal range, but the Ferritin levels had started to drop. Both my primary Doctor and dietitian recommend me increasing my daily iron intake to see if that would help raise my Ferritin level . The duodenum is removed during the Whipple, and it plays a crucial role in iron absorption , so removing of this section of the small bowel reduces the body's ability to absorb iron. Ferritin is a protein that stores iron in the body's cells and It's found in many cells, especially in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow . A low ferritin level after the Whipple is common and is often due to impaired iron absorption caused by the remova...
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